The Montefiore Windmill

Erected in 1857, 18 meters high, for that time the Windmill was an ultra-modern one for grinding grain into flour. Despite the curses of local Arabs not happy with the competition, it continued to turn until steam-powered mills made it obsolete.

During the War of Independence it served an observation point for Jewish fighters. In an attempt to hinder the Israeli defense, the British Authorities blew up the top of the windmill in an operation derisively dubbed by the Jewish population "Operation Don Quixote". Today, the Windmill is a museum dedicated to the life and works - and in remembrance of Sir Moses Montefiore

Montefiore’s indelible mark on the Jerusalem landscape is, of course, the windmill and adjacent cottages and almshouses opposite the Old City, built by him as the executor of a fund left by the American Jewish pioneer Judha Touro. The project, bearing some of the hallmarks of nineteenth century artisanal revival, aimed to promote productive enterprise in the Yishuv. The builders were brought over from England. Unfortunately, because of flaws in construction, the windmill never worked. Next to the windmill you can see a reconstruction of Montefiore's carriage.